The Road Between Two Homes — Sophia Rose Lancer

teen author & high-schooler

Meet Sophia

A girl who lived the two-homes life — and wrote it down for the next kid.

"There's no single right way to feel. My two brothers and I went through the very same change, and not one of us carried it the same way."

Sophia Rose Lancer grew up moving between two homes after her parents' divorce. A student at John F. Kennedy High School in Bellmore, she didn't write from theory — she wrote from the suitcase by the door, the quiet car rides, the feeling of belonging in two places and neither at once.

To shape the workbook, she surveyed kids and adults who'd lived through divorce and separation, and folded their honest answers into its prompts and tools. Her goal is simple: put it into the hands of the children who need it most — including by donating copies to schools, counselors, and family-support programs.

Lived experience Survey-informed Donating to schools

What's inside

Five ways in. No order required.

Written for elementary and middle school ages, and requested by some schools for older students too. It isn't a book to read once. It's a workbook to live in, moving at the child's pace, with no rushing and no pressure to feel “okay.”

Prompts

Pages that listen

Guided prompts for naming what's hard to say out loud. Writing gives a kid time, privacy, and a place to begin.

Switch days

Tools for switch days

Real help for the day a kid moves from one home to the other — often the most tender, unsettled part of the whole week.

Packing list

A packing list

A simple, reassuring checklist so nothing important — a favorite or a comfort — gets left behind on the road between homes.

From Sophia

Notes from Sophia

Short, personal stories that read like a letter from an older friend who has been exactly where you are — quiet proof you're not alone.

Other kids

Other kids' stories

Glimpses of children in all kinds of families, so a reader feels less like the only one — and more like part of a big, ordinary club.

Near the end of the book

A note to someone like me

“Imagine another kid reading this book someday. Write them a note.”

The page gives one line to start with, “If you’re reading this, I want you to know…” and then leaves the rest blank. Every copy that goes into a school ends up holding something no one else will ever read.

The heart of it

However you feel about it,
that's allowed.

A child can feel sad and relieved, angry and loving, all in the same breath — and still look perfectly fine on the outside. This workbook doesn't ask anyone to be okay. It just sits beside them, and says: your feelings matter, you are not the only one, and even though home looks different now, what you feel is real.

To the kid reading it

You're not the only one who feels this way. Take it one page, one switch day, one feeling at a time.

To the grown-ups

Sometimes it's easier for a child to point at a page than to find the perfect words. This is a safe, gentle place to start that conversation.

Where it's being used

Already finding its way into schools, offices, and homes.

In schools

Twenty-six schools across thirteen states, where social workers and counselors use it with students one-on-one and in small groups.

New YorkNew JerseyColoradoSouth CarolinaKansasNorth CarolinaNew HampshireIllinoisPennsylvaniaOhioMinnesotaCaliforniaTexas

View all 26 schools

New York

Winthrop Avenue School
Shore Road School
Birch School
Roland A. Chatterton School
Norman J. Levy Lakeside School
East Quogue Elementary School
Park Avenue Memorial Elementary School
MacArthur Elementary School, Binghamton
Cassadaga Middle-High School
Stratford Road Elementary School

New Jersey

New Road School of Ocean County

Colorado

Amesse Elementary School
Discovery Canyon Campus Middle School

South Carolina

Fort Mill Elementary School

Kansas

Marysville Elementary School

North Carolina

Winterville Charter Academy
Cuthbertson Middle School
Kensington Elementary School
New Town Elementary School

New Hampshire

Pembroke Academy

Illinois

Safe Achieve Academy of Chicago

Pennsylvania

Muse Elementary School
Scott Middle School

Ohio

Firelands Elementary School

Minnesota

Hope Academy

California

Valley Vista Elementary School

Texas

Ronald W. Reagan Middle School

In clinical practice

Used one-on-one and with families by:

Mood For Thought Therapy Group · Toms River, NJ
South Shore Counseling · Oakdale, NY
Institute of Psychological Resilience · Commack, NY
Sunrise Park Psychotherapy · Wantagh, NY
Transformations Counseling Group · Hauppauge, NY
Counseling Services of Long Island · Massapequa, NY

State recognition

Sophia was chosen for Tomorrow’s Leaders Today, the New York State School Boards Association’s recognition program for outstanding student leadership and initiative. The certificate is presented at the Bellmore–Merrick Central High School District Board of Education meeting.

Professional backing

Endorsed by Dr. Robert Goldman, Psy.D., J.D., the psychologist who ran the pilot, and recommended by Nicole Gigliotti, a social worker who works with children in schools and in private practice.

What readers say

Gentle, honest, and genuinely useful.

Sophia has created something genuinely useful. This workbook addresses a real need in child psychology — and it does so with empathy and intelligence.

— Dr. Robert Goldman, Psy.D., J.D.

An extremely valuable resource and tool to help children navigate family changes during divorce.

— Nicole Gigliotti, social worker, schools & private practice

I am impressed and amazed at the depth and substance of this workbook.

— Bette C., educator and grandparent

The activities made it easier for my kids to open up and ask questions.

— M. Roditi, parent who worked through the book with her children

This workbook is a valuable resource for families. I like the prompts and ideas.

— Michelle P., parent, who bought copies for her son’s guidance counselors

In the press

Sophia's story, in her own words.

LI Herald

Sophia tells the story behind the book

A short conversation about lived experience, listening to other kids, and why writing can feel safer than talking.

Bring it home

For the kitchen table, or the counseling office.

Parents can buy it on Amazon and work through it with their child at home. School social workers, counselors, therapists, and family-support programs can reach out directly about donated copies.

Buy on Amazon Follow on Instagram

ISBN 978-1-972014-02-8 · 1972014021

For schools & counselors

Get in touch with Sophia.

Requesting donated copies, or want the workbook in your school or practice? Reach out anytime. The workbook is written for elementary and middle school ages, and some schools use it with older students.

EmailSophialancer18@gmail.com InstagramSee the latest

Donated copies available for schools, counselors & family-support programs — just ask.